Penn State vs Maryland: Who does the Nittany Nation staff have winning?
Good morning Nittany Nation, it's another Penn State gameday, and believe it or not, there is only three weeks left in this regular season. This afternoon, your 7-2 Penn State Nittany Lions will host the 6-3 Maryland Terrapins at 3:30 p.m. with the game televised on Fox.
Our staff below gives our predictions for Saturday afternoon's Big Ten showdown between the Nittany Lions and Terrapins.
Dylan Callaghan-Croley: Penn State 34 - Maryland 21
I like Penn State here for two major reasons. I believe that the secondary will be able to handle the Terrapins' dangerous wide receiver room, having two tremendous talents like Joey Porter Jr and Kalen King makes what for most teams could be a tough task into an easier one, at least on paper. Roman Hembry could be a program for the Nittany Lions but outside their game against Michigan, the Nittany Lions run defense has been superb for most of the year. If the Nittany Lions can keep Maryland to 24 points or less, I like their chances quite a bit.
Offensively, Penn State may not be the most efficient team but they've shown they could put points on the board in bunches, and this Maryland defense while improved still has a ways to go. The Nittany Lions may have drives here and there that are lackluster but as long as Sean Clifford can keep the turnovers and major mistakes to a minimum, I think Penn State should be able to cross the 30-point threshold again on Saturday which should be enough for a win.
Sam Woloson: Penn State 31 - Maryland 24
While Penn State has historically dominated this series, the Terps have played the Nittany Lions very close the last few years. I expect the same story on Saturday, but both teams have major question marks.
For Penn State, how is the offensive line going to hold up? With a slew of injuries, it's likely that some starting linemen won't be able to play. This presents a great opportunity for the Terps to wreak havoc in the front seven, and I expect a lot of aggressive calls from that defense.
For Maryland, can Taulia Tagovailoa bounce back? Tagovailoa had easily his worst game of the year against Wisconsin last week, and this offense isn't the same when Taulia isn't on his game. Penn State's secondary will be hard to dissect, but the linebackers should be very vulnerable with Curtis Jacobs and Tyler Elsdon trending toward not playing.
Overall, the Nittany Lions should pull out a win. Even with the injuries, they are an experienced team with plenty of talent. Maryland will be ready to play and gunning for the upset, so expect a close, chippy game throughout. Penn State will find a way to win.
Justin Morganstein: Penn State 31 - Maryland 17
Penn State will look to continue its recent dominance against Maryland this weekend but will do so with a banged up offensive line.
While the Nittany Lions were able to get by with it against Minnesota, Maryland has a much more formidable pass rush and may be able to give Penn State some problems protecting Sean Clifford.
But Manny Diaz's defense should also be able to get to the quarterback as Taulia Tagovailoa is not far removed from a knee injury which he suffered less than a month ago and was not his normal self in his first start back.
If Penn State wants to control this game it will have to do so by getting the ball out quickly, into the hands of their skill position players who have looked impressive through the bulk of this season.
Jahan Dotson had a career day against the Terps last year and it wouldn't be shocking to see Parker Washington or even Mitchell TInsley do the same this time around.
That will be the difference in a game that could end up being closer than people think.
Josh Taylor: Penn State 34- Minnesota 24
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel